


Listen

by Hidden_Author (orphan_account)



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: American Sign Language, Deaf Character, Drabble, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Hidden_Author
Summary: Janai wakes up one morning unable to hear. Amaya has the opposite problem.
Relationships: Amaya/Janai (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	Listen

**Author's Note:**

> Do I know what this is about??? It's 2 am for me and this kinda wrote itself. There's no plot, just whatever this is. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Khessa's still alive and Amaya and Janai are together. Just roll with it.

She wakes to silence. Not the soft breathing of Amaya next to her, not the shrill chirping of mini-phoenixes outside her window. Pure, simple silence.  
She rolls over, and Amaya is there, still asleep. Janai can see the rise and fall of her girlfriend's chest but can't hear her breath. Sitting up slowly, she cannot hear the rustle off sheets beneath her not the crack of her knuckles as she stretches, thinking. Something is off.

Carefully she lifts her left hand to her ear, snapping her fingers. Nothing. She does not hear a sound.

Janai doors not panic, she's been trained to keep a level head in much stranger and more stressful circumstances, but she can feel her heart picking up speed. Why can she not hear anything? Has she been hit in the head and can't remember? Has she been cursed? Janai has heard that skywing elves are able to influence hearing by controlling vibrations through the air, but she’s in her chambers, surrounded by guards.

Next to her, Amaya begins to stir. As she opens her eyes, bringing one hand up to rub at them, she pauses. Her eyes go wide, and she gasps, a short, hastily-swallowed sound. She quickly grabs one of their pillows and wraps it around the back of her head, covering both ears and pressing her hands to her ears above the pillow.

“Can you hear?” Janai asks, not thinking, shocked out of even wishing her good morning. It's the most surreal experience - her mouth is moving and air is coming out, but she can't hear the words.  
Amaya looks at her, panicked, and shakes her head. Janai realizes that Amaya wasn't answering the question when she rapidly signs _Too loud. What's happening? I can't think!_

 _Don't know_ , Janai responds. _I can't_ _hear._ Amaya’s eyes widen at that, then she nearly jumps out of her skin and looks at the door, hands jumping to cover her ears again.  
Janai stands up. Based on Amaya’s reaction, she assumes that someone knocked on the door to her chambers, so she gets out of bed as silently as possible and slips on a robe before walking to the door and opening it. The guard in the entranceway is clearly speaking, but Janai cannot understand a word. She quiets him with a hand, explaining the situation in what she hopes is a whisper so as not to disturb Amaya.

The guard doesn't look shocked, which is good. He pulls out paper and a pencil and begins to write.

_There's been weird magic going on all morning. Queen Khessa is looking into it, and things should be set to right soon. As long as you're unharmed, I'll send for your breakfasts and clear your morning schedule._

With that, the guard blows respectfully and leaves. Janai makes a mental note to promote him or raise his pay as soon as possible.

She makes her way back to their bed, signing _ok_ and then pausing. She doesn’t yet know the sign for _temporary_ , so instead she signs _end soon._ Amaya seems to understand, because she smiles and huffs out a sigh of relief.

Amaya doesn’t seem to want to sign, probably to keep her hands over her ears. Instead, Janai sits next to her, their thighs touching. Amaya leans into her warmth.

**Author's Note:**

> Deaf people do not need to be "cured" of deafness. Amaya is perfectly happy as a member of the Deaf community. Also, hearing things and actually processing them and understanding them are two different skills, so Amaya doesn't understand what Janai is saying, she just hears sound. Sort of like if someone was speaking a foreign language to you. You'd hear it, but wouldn't understand.
> 
> I'd love to hear what you think!


End file.
